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Blondies

Though I know that there is no
such thing as a “cooking gene,” it certainly seems to be a passion that is
passed down from generation to generation. As I mentioned in my post for ricotta pie my grandmother was a great cook, as was my grandfather, and their
daughter, my mother, is also an excellent cook and baker. I was raised in a
house where pasta sauce never came from a jar, prosciutto di parma and parmesan cheese were staples, and book
shelves had to be added to the kitchen in order to hold my mother’s ever
expanding cookbook collection. Holiday meals were extravagant gourmet feasts --
while the parents of most kids I knew had Christmas or Easter catered, my mom
would excitedly sort through her collection of Bon Appetit magazines to plan
out the menu (appetizers, main course, sides, and dessert.)

She was known to
wake up with us at 6:00 in the morning to make us pancakes for breakfast before
catching the bus to school in Providence, make us beef stew on cold days so we
could be “cozy,” and make us chocolate chip coffee cake for no reason in
particular. When I travel back to the U.S she always has dinner waiting for us
when we get home from the airport -- homemade macaroni and cheese, roasted
tomato soup, caramel layer cake, or anything else you request. Yes, in short, I
grew up spoiled in terms of food, raised by a mother who loves to feed her
family. Needless to say my cooking “gene” has been passed down from her.

So let me get to this recipe
for blondies, which are, for those of you unfamiliar, a buttery brown sugar bar
cookie studded with chocolate chips and sometimes walnuts. Americans know them
as the less popular but equally delicious cousin of the brownie, while our
Italian readers may not know them at all, so I’m happy to be introducing this
recipe to you all!

Growing up, this was one of my
absolute favorite things my mom would make for my brother, sister and me. There
was nothing nicer than coming home after a long day at school to find her
taking a pan of these out of the oven as an after school treat. Equally
delightful was getting to take a plate of them to a friend’s sleepover, or
finding one wrapped in aluminum foil in my lunchbox -- I was the envy of all my
classmates, who would attempt (unsuccessfully) to trade their oreos or fruit
snacks for one.

Note that this is a very quick
and simple recipe -- all you have to do is mix the ingredients together, pour
the batter into the pan, and bake. These are particularly good when served warm
out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Enjoy!!

BLONDIES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk -- the milk
chocolate will make for a sweeter blondie)

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a
medium bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter over medium in a small saucepan or in
the microwave. Let cool to room temperature. Pour into a large bowl. Add the
brown sugar to the melted butter, and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one
at a time, again whisking until combined. Add the vanilla and stir. Add the
flour mixture to the brown sugar mixture and mix everything together with a
wooden spoon until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and the walnuts if you’re
using them. The batter will be thick.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the corners.Put the pan into the preheated oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the top is dry and almost firm to the touch -- be sure to not overcook. Makes about 10 blondies. Note that these are best eaten the day that they are made.